Politico: Appeals Court Weighs Nationwide Freeze Of Obamacare’s Coverage Mandate 
A federal appeals court panel appeared skeptical on Tuesday of calls to impose a nationwide freeze on Obamacare’s rules for no-cost coverage of preventive care while litigation continues — a move the Biden administration warned would threaten access to a range of services for millions of people on employer-sponsored insurance and Obamacare’s individual market. Both sides in the case agreed that the individual Texas businesses that sued over the mandate should be shielded from it while the case makes its way through the courts. But they split on whether more harm would be caused by keeping the current coverage rules intact for everyone else in the country or by suspending them nationwide. (Ollstein, 6/6)

AP: HIV Protection, Cancer Screenings Could Cost More If 'Obamacare' Loses Latest Court Battle 
A judge’s order that would eliminate requirements that health insurance plans include cost-free coverage of HIV-preventing drugs, cancer screenings and various other types of preventive care should remain on hold while it is appealed, the Biden administration argued before an appellate panel Tuesday. It’s the latest legal skirmish over mandates in former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, commonly known as “Obamacare,” which took effect 13 years ago. (McGill, 6/6)

Also —

KFF Health News: A Windfall In Health Insurance Rebates? It’s Not As Crazy As It Sounds 
Former Democratic Sen. Al Franken tweeted recently that Americans will receive “$1.1 B in rebates from health insurance companies this year” because of a provision he wrote into the Affordable Care Act. The tweet prompted many comments, including some from people who said they had never seen such a check from their insurers. That got us wondering: Is Franken’s tweet correct and, if so, how exactly do these rebates work? (Appleby, 6/7)

Stat: Merck Sues U.S. Government Over Medicare Negotiation Program
Merck on Tuesday sued to stop the federal government from implementing a new Medicare drug price negotiation program. Merck called the negotiation process that Democrats designed in a law last August “a sham,” arguing that the federal government “dictates” prices. (Cohrs and Silverman, 6/6)

Reuters: White House Says It Will Win Merck Lawsuit, Defends Medicare Drug Negotiations
The Biden administration is confident it will succeed in the courts against Merck & Co's lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the White House said, defending the Medicare health insurance program's authority to seek deals on medicine prices. "We are confident we will succeed in the courts: there is nothing in the Constitution that prevents Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. (6/6)

In related news about Medicare and the cost of drugs —

CNBC: Alzheimer's: Lawmakers Press For More Info On Medicare Coverage
Two Democratic lawmakers are calling on Medicare to provide more information on how the program will make good on its promise to cover Alzheimer’s treatments for seniors. Rep. Anna Eshoo, the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Health, and Rep. Nanette Barragan said Medicare has failed to answer basic questions about how its coverage plan will work. (Kimball, 6/6)

Modern Healthcare: 340B Drug Discount Program Faces Uncertainties Amid HRSA Silence
On May 11, the Health Resources and Services Administration removed guidance from its website, issued in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, that allowed 340B-eligible hospitals to prescribe discounted drugs for patients seen at off-site clinics before those clinics were registered with the Office of Pharmacy Affairs Information System and were listed on a Medicare cost report. Hospitals expected the June 2020 guidance to be made permanent rather than tied to the COVID-19 public health emergency, which ended May 11. (Kacik, 6/6)

Stat: Digital Therapeutics Industry Descends On D.C. To Make Case For Coverage
A top priority at the Digital Therapeutics Alliance’s first summit is to advance the industry’s marquee bill, the Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act. Throughout the week, DTA members will have dozens of meetings on Capitol Hill they hope will rally more support for legislation that would compel Medicare to create a way to pay for software-based medical treatments cleared by the Food and Drug Administration — a step proponents argue is essential for the treatments to reach more patients. (Aguilar, 6/7)

More news from the Biden administration —

Reuters: White House Vows An Improved Effort Against Drug Overdoses 
President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday pledged an improved effort to combat drug overdoses that claimed the lives of about 100,000 Americans last year, using a White House summit to tout a multifaceted approach to tackle synthetic and illicit drugs such as the powerful opioid fentanyl. "Today's summit is needed because the global and regional drug environment has changed dramatically from just even a few years ago," Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the summit, being held jointly with public health officials from Mexico and Canada. (Bose, 6/6)

The Hill: One Person Died From Gun Violence Every 11 Minutes In 2021, Setting New Record: Study
Gun deaths in the U.S. reached a record-high in 2021, with an average of one person dying every 11 minutes each day — a total of nearly 49,000 deaths from gun violence throughout the year, according to a new study. A new Johns Hopkins study, using the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control, found gun deaths reached the highest number ever recorded for the second straight year in a row. (Fortinsky, 6/6)

Also —

Reuters: US Cannot Ban People Convicted Of Non-Violent Crimes From Owning Guns-Appeals Court
The U.S. government cannot ban people convicted of non-violent crimes from possessing guns, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The 11-4 ruling from the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest defeat for gun control laws in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year expanding gun rights nationwide. (Pierson, 6/6)

The Guardian: Can Medicaid Help Those Affected By Gun Violence? In California, A New System Could Help People Rebuild Their Lives 
Hospital-based violence intervention programs could soon see funds provided by Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. (Singh, 6/7)

More on the gun violence epidemic —

NBC News: Father And Son, 18, Killed And 5 Injured In Shooting After High School Graduation At Virginia Commonwealth University
An 18-year-old who had just graduated and his father were killed in a shooting Tuesday after a high school graduation ceremony on the Virginia Commonwealth University campus, Richmond police said. Tameeka Jackson-Smith told NBC News her son, Shawn Jackson and her husband, Renzo Smith, 36, were killed in the shooting, which left five others injured, according to police. United Communities Against Crime, a local organization, also shared the identities of the slain father and son on behalf of the family. (Romero, 6/6)

ABC News: 2 Shot At Maryland Cemetery During Burial Of 10-Year-Old Gun Violence Victim
Two people have been shot, one fatally, at a Maryland cemetery during the burial of a 10-year-old girl who fell victim to gun violence last month, according to police. It appears Tuesday afternoon's shooting at Washington National Cemetery in Prince George's County, just outside of Washington, D.C., stemmed from a "dispute totally unrelated to what was going on with the funeral," Prince George's County police Maj. David Blazer said at a news conference. (Shapiro, 6/6)

Reuters: Planned Parenthood Sues Kansas Over Abortion Reversal Claims
Planned Parenthood on Tuesday sued to block a new Kansas law requiring healthcare providers to tell patients that medication abortion can be reversed, a potentially dangerous claim not supported by evidence. The lawsuit in the District Court of Johnson County, filed against state and local authorities on behalf of a group of doctors, also challenges older mandates requiring providers to warn patients that abortion is linked to breast cancer, and to wait at last 30 minutes after meeting with a patient to perform an abortion. (Pierson, 6/7)

The Baltimore Sun: New Abortion Provider In Western Maryland Will Cut Patients’ Journeys From West Virginia, Where Procedure Is Banned
Many residents in nearby Cumberland aren’t happy about having an abortion provider opening close by, Mayor Roy Morriss said, though he added he hears more complaints about traffic in town and water rates. In April, about a dozen people spoke against the center’s opening at a crowded hearing held by Allegany County’s Board of County Commissioners. Board President David Caporale told the audience that the three commissioners — all Republicans — agreed with the speakers, but their hands were tied by state law from stopping the center from opening. (Roberts, 6/6)

AP: Indiana Abortion Clinic Closes Amid 'Unnecessary' Restrictions
A northern Indiana abortion clinic will close nearly a year after the state approved a ban on the practice, with “unnecessary” and “politically driven” restrictions on abortions forcing its closure, according to a Monday announcement. Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, said in the statement that staff have seen over 1,100 women for medication abortions “in our small but mighty South Bend clinic” since it opened seven years ago. (Rodgers, 6/6)

The Hill: Colorado GOP To Biden: Don’t Let Abortion Influence Space Command Decision
The Colorado Republican Party is urging President Biden not to take abortion access into consideration if he decides to base the Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs — a move that would reverse former President Trump’s selection of Huntsville, Alab., as the prime location. Instead, Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams wrote in a letter shared with The Hill, Biden should make that decision based on merit. (Fortinsky, 6/7)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Is Becoming A Legal Battleground Over Abortion Access With New Challenge To 30-Year-Old “Bubble” Law
An anti-abortion activist is challenging Colorado’s 30-year-old prohibition on approaching people within 100 feet of the entrance of a health care facility to pass them a leaflet, display a sign or engage in “oral protest, education or counseling. ”The 1993 ban, sometimes called the “bubble law,” was enacted by the legislature as a way to shield women getting an abortion from harassment, though it doesn’t apply just to abortion clinics. (Paul, 6/6)

Also —

Los Angeles Times: Abortion And Trans Rights Advocates See Parallel In Struggle
Bans on treatment. New laws threatening doctors with malpractice suits and criminal charges. Praise from lawmakers who say their legislation is meant to protect minors, even as the new policies infringe on the rights of adults. As state legislatures wind down and the 2024 election cycle kicks off, the similarities between the fights for abortion access and transgender rights have come into stark focus. Republican lawmakers have introduced a record number of bills in states and Congress that would restrict the rights of transgender people and the healthcare they receive. While the scope and magnitude of the legislation is unprecedented, the strategies being used are not. (John, 6/7)

NPR: How The SCOTUS 'Supermajority' Is Shaping Policy On Abortion, Guns And More
Constitutional lawyer Michael Waldman says that there's an increasing distance between the American people and the Supreme Court. He points out that Democrats have won the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections, but Republican presidents have appointed six of the nine justices now on the Supreme Court. "In a sense, the country is moving in one direction and, with this locked-in majority supermajority, the Court is moving fast in another direction," Waldman says. (Davies, 6/6)

San Francisco Chronicle: Study Finds No Side Effects From COVID Vaccines For Young Children
A first-of-its-kind study found no serious side effects from COVID vaccines in young children, according to research from Kaiser Permanente released Tuesday. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, reviewed records of more than 245,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines given mostly to children age 4 or younger between June 2022 and March 2023. (Castro-Root, 6/6)

CIDRAP: Large Study Shows Safety Of COVID MRNA Vaccines In Young Children
Medical records were searched for 23 serious potential vaccine side effects, including blood clots, seizures, stroke, the aforementioned myocarditis, and brain inflammation, in days 1 to 21 postvaccination. (Soucheray, 6/6)

More about covid —

Reuters: US FDA Approves Cue Health's At-Home COVID Test 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Cue Health's at-home COVID-19 test, the first coronavirus test to get marketing authorization using a traditional premarket review, the agency said. The FDA had granted emergency use authorization for the test in 2021 to make it available to consumers without a prescription. (6/6)

CIDRAP: Studies Describe Long-COVID Heart Dysfunction, Suggest 4 Symptom Profiles
A pair of US studies has better characterized persistent COVID-19 symptoms, with one suggesting a higher likelihood of small blood-vessel heart dysfunction among hospitalized patients, and the other concluding that long COVID is a range of conditions rather than a single one. (Van Beusekom, 6/6)

Reuters: Moderna, Pfizer Hit With New Patent Lawsuits Over COVID Vaccines
Biotech firm Promosome LLC sued Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech in federal court in San Diego, California, on Tuesday, accusing their COVID-19 vaccines of infringing a patent related to messenger RNA technology. The lawsuits add to a web of patent disputes between biotech companies over technology used in the coronavirus shots, including a case brought last year in Massachusetts by Moderna against Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. (Brittain, 6/6)

WUSF Public Media: A New Report Shows The Impacts Of The Pandemic On Older Floridians
The United Health Foundation’s 11th America’s Health Rankings Senior Report highlights the challenges and strengths in the health of individuals 60 and over in Florida and across the country. While some statistics show growing strengths in older Americans’ lives, such as a national increase in high-speed internet access and a significant decrease in food insecurity, the report points to the negative implications of social isolation as severe. (Miller, 6/6)

The New York Times: Wildfire Smoke: Skies Darken As Air Alerts Are Issued Across Northern U.S. 
Smoke from the hundreds of wildfires blazing in eastern Canada has drifted south, casting a hazy pall over New York City and triggering air alerts from Minnesota to Massachusetts. (6/6)

Bloomberg: New York Has World’s Worst Air Pollution As Canada Wildfires Rage
New York was the most polluted major city in the world on Tuesday night, as smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the city in haze, according to the IQAir website. Pollution levels in the city were deemed to be in the “unhealthy” range, and were higher than those in the Indian capital Delhi and Baghdad at 1:25 a.m. New York time, according to the Swiss air quality company. (Katanuma, 6/7)

NBC News: How Poor Air Quality Hurts Your Health
Many of the health issues people see from poor air quality, in general, can overlap with health issues people see from wildfire smoke, said Dr. Wynne Armand, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate director of the MGH Center for the Environment and Health. Air pollution from wildfire smoke can make breathing difficult for anyone, but especially for young children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with asthma or other pre-existing respiratory conditions, she said.  (Lovelace Jr., 6/6)

In other environmental health news —

Minnesota Public Radio: Report: Removing PFAS From Minnesota Wastewater Would Cost Billions
A new report published by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found it would cost $14 billion to $28 billion over the next two decades to clean up so-called “forever chemicals” from wastewater streams across the state. The report was funded by the Legislature as part of the state's efforts to fully understand what it will take to remove and destroy PFAS chemicals from water systems. (Richert and Marohn, 6/6)

The Washington Post: How Can I Avoid Eating Food With ‘Forever’ Chemicals?
Cindy Luppi, the national field director for Clean Water Action, said “it’s very hard” for people to avoid products with PFAS. “For the average consumer, there’s no way to avoid it,” said Graham Peaslee, a physics professor at the University of Notre Dame. “But, you can do some smart things.” (Anmenabar, 6/6)

Modern Healthcare: Leapfrog Group: Health Disparities Persist In Highly Rated Hospitals
Hospitals that receive high safety grades and score well on external safety measures do not provide better care to patients of color than lower-rated facilities, according to a study of more than 10 million patient records. The research from Leapfrog Group and Urban Institute, which used 2019 discharge data from across 15 states, found that Black and Latino patients are more at risk of experiencing adverse safety events than white patients, regardless of a hospital’s Leapfrog Group ranking. (Devereaux, 6/7)

KFF Health News: Burnout Threatens Primary Care Workforce And Doctors’ Mental Health 
Melanie Gray Miller, a 30-year-old physician, wiped away tears as she described the isolation she felt after losing a beloved patient. “It was at the end of a night shift, when it seems like bad things always happen,” said Miller, who is training to become a pediatrician. (Sausser, 6/7)

In news about cancer treatments —

Stat: Novocure's Electric Fields Device Prolongs Survival In Lung Cancer
A medical device made by Novocure that creates electric fields in the lungs via wearable skin patches extended the survival of patients with lung cancer in a clinical trial, researchers reported Monday. The findings could lead to a new approval for the device, called Optune, beyond its current marketing clearance to treat a type of brain cancer. Delivering additional sales, however, could be a significant challenge. (Feuerstein, 6/6)

Stat: ASCO Showcased Payoff For New Cancer Medicines: Longer Lives
The biggest meeting in cancer research — and, really, one of the biggest annual conferences for the pharmaceutical industry as a whole — has drawn to a close. What did we learn from this year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology? Here’s one lesson: New cancer medicines, given enough time, can be shown to affect the thing patients care about most — whether they live or die. (Herper, Chen, Feuerstein and MacPhail, 6/7)

Stat: Incoming ASCO President Buoyed By Cancer Advances
As a busy weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting wound down, Lynn Schuchter accepted a gavel from Eric P. Winer, cueing the start of her one-year term as the society’s president. Come Monday, the first official day of her presidency, Schuchter was looking ahead to her year as president. She was also still energized from the plenary session the day before — which Schuchter said was one of the best she’d ever seen. (MacPhail, 6/7)

AP: US Judge Blocks Florida Ban On Trans Minor Care In Narrow Ruling, Says 'Gender Identity Is Real' 
A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a new Florida law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, saying in a Tuesday ruling that gender identity is real and the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment. Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction, saying three transgender children can continue receiving treatment. The lawsuit challenges the law DeSantis signed shortly before he announced a run for president. “Gender identity is real. The record makes this clear,” Hinkle said, adding that even a witness for the state agreed. (Farrington, 6/7)

Los Angeles Times: LGBTQ+ Rights Organization Declares 'State Of Emergency' In The U.S. 
The volume of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation “is record-shattering,” said Cathryn Oakley, the HRC’s state legislative director and senior counsel. “It is a really scary time for LGBTQ people, and I am not certain everyone understands quite how scary it really is,” Oakley said. Republican-controlled state governments including those in Texas, Florida and Tennessee are at the forefront of the movement against LGBTQ+ rights, the HRC said, calling out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in particular for “criss-crossing the country to attack our community.” (Petri, 6/6)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

AP: North Dakota Health Officials Urge Return Of Medicaid Renewal Forms As Thousands Lose Coverage 
Officials are urging North Dakotans who receive Medicaid renewal forms to complete and return them within 30 days, given that thousands of people who were still eligible were removed from the program last month. State Health and Human Services says about 13,000 Medicaid recipients in North Dakota were due for renewal at the end of May, but thousands failed to return their forms, so many lost coverage even though they may still qualify, KFGO reported. (6/6)

The Colorado Sun: Why A Big Showdown Over The Colorado Option Didn't Happen
Yesterday was supposed to be the day when the curtain lifted on the most momentous showdown yet for Gov. Jared Polis’ health policy initiatives — when hospitals and insurance companies would have gotten hauled into a public hearing to explain why their prices aren’t lower. The showdown has to do with the Colorado Option, the Polis-backed, government-designed health insurance plan that private companies operating in the state are required to sell. Colorado Option plans are required to be sold at lower prices — for next year’s plans, those prices are supposed to be 10% below a company’s 2021 rates. (Ingold, 6/7)

The Boston Globe: State’s Largest Insurer Has Doubled Spending On Mental Health Care Since Start Of The Pandemic
In a sign of how the COVID emergency elevated the importance of mental well-being, the state’s largest health insurer disclosed it has doubled its spending on behavioral health services since the beginning of the pandemic and aggressively expanded its ranks of providers to meet swelling demand. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts reported this week that it spent $1.3 billion on mental health services in 2022, up from $610 million in 2019. The number of behavioral health visits likewise doubled, from 4 million to 8 million. (Freyer, 6/6)

On medical marijuana —

North Carolina Health News: Could Medical Marijuana Make NC Roads More Dangerous?
Lawmakers are once again deliberating whether to legalize marijuana for medical use, an issue that has plenty of supporters in the state Senate but has failed to become law the past two legislative cycles. Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Southport), a primary sponsor of the bill and a colon cancer survivor, has been pushing for several years for North Carolina to join the 38 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and territories that allow the use of marijuana — also referred to as cannabis — for medical purposes. Reasons given for opposition to the proposal in years past have varied. This year, many of the bill’s detractors have argued that legalization would make North Carolina’s roadways more treacherous. (Thomae, 6/7)

The Washington Post: Bothered By Pot Smell, She Sued Her Neighbor To Stop Smoking — And Won
A D.C. judge has ruled that a man who smokes medical marijuana in his apartment must stop after a neighbor complained that the odor from his marijuana crept into her home and caused a nuisance. Judge Ebony Scott ruled late Monday that while Josefa Ippolito-Shepherd could not prove she is entitled to damages, she successfully made the case that the smell is a private nuisance, and Scott ordered Thomas Cackett to stop smoking. Scott said that Cackett is licensed to buy marijuana but “he does not possess a license to disrupt the full use and enjoyment of one’s land.” (Kornfield and Bellware, 6/6)

CNN: More Kids Are Anxious But Fewer Get The Right Help, Study Shows
More kids, teens and young adults are experiencing anxiety — but fewer are getting the appropriate treatment, according to the latest research. A new study looked at data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2006 to 2018 and assessed office-based physician visits to see how many included an anxiety disorder diagnosis and what treatment, if any, was given. The patients observed ranged in age from 4 to 24 years old. While visits for anxiety increased from 1.4% in the 2006 to 2009 period to 4.2% in the period from 2014 to 2018, the proportion of visits with therapy decreased, according to the study published Monday in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal Pediatrics. (Holcombe, 6/7)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

In other health and wellness news —

NPR: Boppy's Recalled Infant Lounger Now Linked To At Least 10 Deaths 
In an announcement released by CPSC Tuesday, the agency confirmed that two more deaths were reported after 2021 recall, bringing the total number of deaths to 10. (While it is illegal to sell the product, they are still available on the secondhand market.) In October 2021, the commission said a child was placed on a lounger, rolled underneath a nearby adult pillow and died by positional asphyxia. The following month, a newborn was placed on a lounger in an adult bed and was later found dead. (Franklin, 6/6)

The Washington Post: Delta Unveils Seat That Would Let Fliers Use Their Own Wheelchairs
The system allows airlines to keep the design of their cabins and lets a standard seat fold up to accommodate a wheelchair restraint. If no wheelchair user is on board, it can be used like any other seat. (Sampson, 6/6)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’ 
On the KFF Health News Minute this week: a fresh debate over new mammogram guidelines and the financial risks of traveling in the United States without extra health insurance. (6/6)

AP: Pope Francis To Undergo Intestinal Surgery Under General Anesthesia
Pope Francis went to the hospital Wednesday to undergo abdominal surgery to treat an intestinal blockage, two years after he had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed because of an inflammation and narrowing of the large intestine. The Vatican said Francis, 86, would be put under general anesthesia for the procedure Wednesday afternoon and would be hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for several days. (Winfield, 6/7)

ScienceDaily: New Drug Delays Progression Of Glioma, A Deadly Brain Cancer
Scientists have shown that a new targeted therapy drug can extend the amount of time people with a subtype of glioma are on treatment without their cancer worsening. The finding suggests a possible new treatment option for people with the slow-growing but deadly brain tumor. (University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences, 6/5)

ScienceDaily: New Class Of Antibiotics To Fight Resistant Bacteria
Health professionals are in urgent need of new antibiotics to tackle resistant bacteria. Researchers have now modified the chemical structure of naturally occurring peptides to develop antimicrobial molecules that bind to novel targets in the bacteria's metabolism. (University of Zurich, 6/1)

New England Journal of Medicine: Tirofiban For Stroke Without Large Or Medium-Sized Vessel Occlusion
The effects of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitor tirofiban in patients with acute ischemic stroke but who have no evidence of complete occlusion of large or medium-sized vessels have not been extensively studied. (Wenjie, M.D., et al, 6/1)

JAMA: Letermovir Vs Valganciclovir For Prophylaxis Of Cytomegalovirus In High-Risk Kidney Transplant Recipients
Is prophylaxis with letermovir noninferior to valganiclovir for cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease prevention in high-risk CMV-seronegative kidney transplant recipients who receive an organ from a CMV-seropositive donor? (Limaye, MD, Budde, MD and Humar MD, MSc, 6/6)

Bloomberg: Can Ketamine Treat Depression? Why Researchers Struggle To Answer 
For more than a decade, ketamine has been capturing headlines as a miracle treatment for people with severe depression. But even with reasonably strong evidence the drug can offer short-term, fast-acting relief from depression, researchers still aren’t entirely sure how it works — or even how much of its benefits are due to its ability to rewire connections in the brain versus the mind-altering experience of taking it. (Lisa Jarvis, 6/2)

Los Angeles Times: FDA Approval For The Hot-Flash Drug Veozah Should Be Part Of Policy Shift On Menopause 
There are an estimated 55 million women in menopause in the United States today, the majority of whom endure its most debilitating symptoms in silence. It doesn’t have to be so debilitating, and it wouldn’t be if we could end the silence and make even a handful of key policy changes. (Jennifer Weiss-Wolf and Sharon Malone, 6/5)

The CT Mirror: Allow Pharmacists To Prescribe Birth Control
 In Connecticut the proposed bill of SB 171 could be a monumental step in the right direction for reproductive healthcare. SB 171 is a bill that would allow a pharmacist prescribe birth control. (Cate DiRamio, 6/2)

The New York Times: What Ozempic And Addiction Drugs Reveal About Desire 
Mary Boyer, a 41-year-old tech worker, started taking the drug Mounjaro last October to treat obesity. She has since lost more than 40 pounds, going from 267 when she started to 221 when she weighed herself recently. “I’m losing, like, a pound and a half a week pretty steadily,” she said. (Maia Szalavitz, 6/4)

Bloomberg: Should Medicare Cover Wegovy, Ozempic And Other New Obesity Drugs? 
When Medicare’s prescription-drug program was created two decades ago, it was prohibited by law from covering weight-loss drugs, which were seen as largely cosmetic. Congress also worried about health risks after several popular diet pills were taken off the market. (6/2)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Suffers From A Convenience Problem 
When I arrive for a medical appointment, I’m not sure whether other patients are scheduled to see the doctor at the same time as me, but my suspicions mount with every 15 extra minutes spent in a waiting room. (Mary Ellen Podmolik, 6/5)

The Washington Post: Does Social Media Harm Kids? Answers Are Needed
The U.S. surgeon general released an advisory this past month warning that the country’s children “have become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment” of social media use. The trouble is, the results aren’t in yet. (6/5)

The Washington Post: What Happened When I Took Ozempic
Ozempic is just part of a new arsenal of medications being used to treat obesity. In June 2021, the Food and Drug Administration gave the go-ahead to an identical formulation, at higher doses and a higher price, under the brand name Wegovy. (Ruth Marcus, 6/6)

Stat: Why We Need To Separate Burnout From Moral Injury In Health Care
Deployed in the desert Middle East, confined to a military base ringed by Hesco barriers and razor wire, Dr. Rita Gallardo’s only escape from the horrors of the combat-shattered bodies of young service members was dreaming of the life she might build later. But in the span of five years, Rita left two jobs when she struggled to get her patients the care they deserved, with the specialists she thought were best for their situation, all in the interests of corporate profits. (Wendy Dean, 6/7)

Kansas City Star: Kansas Requires No Investigation After Death In Nursing Home
“No one gets out of life alive.” That’s certainly not what I expected to hear from the hospice nurse upon hearing that a doctor who treated my father suspected foul play in his death. (Valerie Rouviere Harper, 6/7)

Stat: Donate To A Biobank To Help Medical Discoveries 
Right now, it’s possible that cells from my body are growing in a lab somewhere and are being used to test new cancer drugs. After I was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumors, a rare type of cancer, I went through surgery to remove the tumors and chose to donate them to a biobank. I gave consent for the cells from my tumors to be used to create cell lines and organoids (three-dimensional tissue cultures) as models to study neuroendocrine tumors, since it is a poorly understood, under-investigated disease with limited treatment options. (Kimberly M. Baker, 6/7)